New report documents Hamas' systematic use of sexual violence during Oct 7 massacre

Warning: This article contains descriptions of severe sexual violence.

Hamas terrorists employed sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) “deliberately and systematically” as part of their Oct. 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel, according to a new report by the Civil Commission on Hamas crimes called “Silenced No More” – the most comprehensive record of Hamas’ atrocities to date.

In over two years of work, the civil society organization compiled previously published testimonies and some 400 new testimonies into a report spanning almost 300 pages, backed by hundreds of footnotes and references to over 10,000 documented items.

“We understood that we needed to create evidentiary documentation at standards that could not be denied,” commission chief Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy told Ynet News.

The new report was widely covered by media outlets in Israel and abroad, curiously coinciding with an opinion piece in the New York Times that alleged that Israel has been "systematically" abusing Palestinian prisoners, explicitly drawing comparisons to Hamas' atrocities.

Months ago, the Civil Commission approached the New York Times with a report on Hamas’ systematic sexual violence on Oct. 7 and after. The @nytimes said it was not interested.

This comprehensive and well-documented report was published this morning by CNN and other…

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 12, 2026

The Israeli Foreign Ministry noted that the newspaper had been offered to cover the report months ago but declined. "Aware of the report and its release date, the night before its release the NYT ran a shameful attack on Israel, belittling Hamas’ sexual crimes," the ministry wrote.

The report's key finding is the identification and classification of the systematic and widespread patterns of targeted abuse as an integral and planned part of the massacre. This was demonstrated, for example, by the lists of Hebrew-language commands and phrases carried by the terrorists explicitly to facilitate the atrocities.

After more than two years of independent investigation, the Civil Commission has released a comprehensive report documenting sexual and gender-based violence committed by Hamas on October 7 and during hostage captivity.

The report is not only a historical record — it is a call… pic.twitter.com/lqzw168Pip

— The Civil Commission (@theCC07) May 12, 2026

They also used extensive documentation of their actions to “perpetuate, glorify, and amplify the atrocities they committed, including sexualized content made for public display,” the report found.

“Perpetrators filmed themselves and circulated images and videos during the attacks, including assaulting, humiliating, abducting, killing women, children, and entire families, and desecrating bodies. They presented women and their bodies as trophies of war.”

The commission identified thirteen recurring patterns of sexual and gender-based violence committed across multiple locations, including the newly coined phrase of “kinocide.”

This denotes the “systematic torture and violence against families… kin, as a familial relation, and cide, as in the systematicity of it,” Elkayam-Levy explained to The Jerusalem Post.

The @nytimes ran 4,000 words claiming Israel trains dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners.

Yes, dogs.

The source is Euro-Med, a Geneva group with proven ties to Palestinian terror. The author, Nicholas Kristof, admits inside his own column that he cannot actually know how… pic.twitter.com/UznwIgHO79

— Zvika Klein צביקה קליין (@ZvikaKlein) May 12, 2026

The thirteen patterns are: “Rape, gang rape, and other forms of sexual assaults; Sexual torture, including intentional burning and mutilation; Deliberate shootings to the head, face and genital area; Killings and executions following or committed in conjunction with SGBV; Postmortem sexual abuse, humiliation, and desecration of bodies; Forced nudity and exposure; Handcuffing, binding, and restraint of victims; Public displaying and parading of women and children; Abduction of mothers and children; SGBV inflicted in the presence or near vicinity of family members; Filming and digital dissemination of SGBV, including use of social media to document, glorify, and amplify the atrocities; Threats of forced marriage; Rape and other forms of sexual violence against boys and men.”

The report compiled testimonies from medical teams who identified the bodies of victims at the IDF’s Shura military base, pathologists who examined evidence from the massacre, and detailed testimonies from hostages who returned from captivity in Gaza.

The compiled evidence was also collected in a secure digital archive, which is inaccessible to the public but contains documentation that was later removed from the internet for being too graphic or violating privacy laws.

“This work carries a broader historical purpose,” the commission stated. “At its core, this report is an act of documentation, accountability, and remembrance.”

“Many victims of these crimes did not survive to testify. Others continue to endure profound trauma,” the report stated. “By preserving testimonies, documenting evidence, and analyzing the patterns and legal implications of the crimes, the Commission has sought to ensure that the suffering endured by the victims will not be denied, erased, or forgotten.”

The report added that the effort also serves a broader legal and historical purpose. “It records the voices of survivors and witnesses,” it stated. “It preserves the evidentiary foundations necessary for future prosecutions. And it affirms a fundamental principle of international justice: that even in the aftermath of the most extreme violence, truth must be documented and the suffering of victims must be acknowledged.”